Helmuth von Moltke the Younger

Helmuth von Moltke the Younger (25 May 1848-18 June 1916) was a Colonel-General of the Imperial German Army who served as Chief of the German General Staff from 1906 to 1914, succeeding Alfred von Schlieffen and preceding Erich von Falkenhayn.

Biography
Known as "the Younger" to distinguish him from his uncle, a celebrate Prussian commander, Helmuth von Moltke was a close friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and thus appointed head of the general staff in 1906. From his predecessor, Alfred von Schlieffen, he inherited a plan for a war against France and Russia, involving a powerful "right hook" through Belgium into northern France. In August 1914, Moltke set his plan in motion, invading France in the battle of the Frontiers. Slowed by resistance in Belgium, Moltke then weakened his right wing by diverting troops to face advancing Russian forces on the Eastern Front. He lost contact with his armies from his headquarters in Luxembourg, so commanders on the ground made crucial decisions: to turn east of Paris instead of west, and to retreat whne counterattacked at the Marne. Overwhelmed by the pressure, Moltke was fired in mid-September, although the news was initially suppressed to avoid giving encouragement to the Triple Entente. His last order was for German armies to dig in to fortified lines, in effect, initiating trench warfare.